Phase shifting device for cloth laying carriage

ABSTRACT

Phase shifting means for use with a cloth laying machine carriage having a positively driven cloth web feed roller, and first and second fold-forming bars between which said web passes to form alternating folds in said web at either end of a cloth lay. The feed roller is driven in a single direction of rotation by means responsive to movement of the carriage in either direction over a cloth laying table, and includes lost motion coupling means permitting motion of the carriage in either direction at a point of reversal of direction of movement without imparting motion to the driven roller, corresponding to the distance between the cloth-guiding edge of a fold-forming bar which then commences its function with the reversal of movement of said carriage, and the pick-up point on the web at which said guiding edge contacts said web as movement of the carriage continues in a reverse direction.

Unite States Patent Paterson 1 Mar. 11, 1975 Primary E.\amim'rRobert W. Michell Assistant E.raminerA. .I. Heinz Attorney, Agent. or FirmCharles E. Temko [57] ABSTRACT Phase shifting means for use with a cloth laying machine carriage having a positively driven cloth web feed roller, and first and second fold-forming bars between which said web passes to form alternating folds in said web at either end of a cloth lay. The feed roller is driven in a single direction of rotation by means responsive to movement of the carriage in either direction over a cloth laying table, and includes lost motion coupling means permitting motion of the carriage in either direction at a point of reversal of direction of movement without imparting motion to the driven roller, corresponding to the distance between the clothguiding edge of a fold-forming bar which then commences its function with the reversal of movement of said carriage, and the pick-up point on the web at which said guiding edge contacts said web as movement of the carriage continues in a reverse direction.

2 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTED MARI 1 1975 saw a er 2 PHASE SHIFTING DEVICE FOR CLOTH LAYING CARRIAGE This application is a continuation-in-part of my copending application, Ser. No. 145,194, filed June 20, 1971 and now abandoned.

This invention relates generally to the field of cloth laying carriages of a type which disposes a continuous web of cloth in S folds upon the upper surface of a cloth laying table, and more particularly to a phase shifting device for preventing the feeding of excess cloth at the time of reversal of direction of movement, after the completion ofa fold at one end of the lay, and prior to commencement of a subsequent cycle.

In cloth laying machines utilizing positive drive feed rollers and pivotally mounted speading and folding blade assemblies, an out-of-phase condition exists immediately after the formation of a fold which results in excess cloth which adversely affects the quality of the spread.

This out-of-phase condition stemming from the manner of spreading and catching, occurs after a catch has been made and the carriage reverses to resume its spreading function in an opposite-direction. Because the feed roller normally commences rotation immediately with the reversal of movement, it feeds excess cloth during the period in which the guiding edge of the blade assembly coming into action has moved sufficiently to contact the web. This excess cloth accumulates with each reversal of the carriage, so that after a number oflamina of the cloth web are deposited on the table, the error between cloth required and actually supplied is quite substantial.

It is therefore among the principal objects of the present invention to provide phase shifting means which may be conveniently incorporated into the means driving the cloth feed roll, whereby the excess cloth feed may be eliminated.

Another object of the invention-lies in the provision of improved construction of the class described which may be conveniently incorporated into existing cloth laying machine carriages, with relatively minor modification.

These objects, as well as other incidental ends and advantages, will more fully appear in the progress of the following disclosure, and be pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawing, to which reference will be made in the specification, similar reference characters have been employed to designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram indicating the problem solved by the disclosed embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view as seen from the plane 33 in FIG. 2 showing lost motion means forming a part of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a vertical'sectional view as seen from the plane 4-4 in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view corresponding to that seen in FIG. 4, and showing certain of the component parts in altered relative position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Briefly stated, the invention contemplates the provision of lost-motion means interconnecting the positive drive roller of a cloth laying carriage, and the means for driving the same in a continuous direction, normally by interconnection with the wheels of the carriage, so that when the carriage reverses its direction of travel. the fold-forming bars which deposit a fold of cloth beneath a catcher mechanism, upon the commencement of a new cycle, may move into contact with the continuous web of cloth emanating from the positive feed roller without additional cloth being fed during such movement, so that excess cloth will not be accumulated with each laying cycle.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DISCLOSED EMBODIMENT Before entering into a detailed description of the disclosed embodiment, a brief discussion of the problem involved is considered apposite. Referring to FIG. 1 in the drawing there is schematically illustrated a positively driven feed roller 10 from which a tensionless web of cloth 1'1 descends to fall between a pair of pivotally mounted cloth spreader bars 13 and 14. As is well known in the art, a catcher bar 15 is adapted to fall upon one of the bars 13-14, depending upon which end of the cloth laying table (not shown) is involved with the forming of a fold of cloth. Each bar includes a cloth spreading edge, as at 17 and 18, which in their lowermost position shown in FIG. 1 are separated by a fixed distance.

In most prior art cloth laying carriages, which include a positive drive, the feed roller 10 is mechanically coupled to the wheels of the carriage, such that motion of the carriage over the cloth laying table in either direction results in rotation of the feed roll in a clockwise direction, irrespective of the direction of movement of the carriage. During the formation of a cloth fold at the end of a cloth laying cycle, the leading catcher bar is normally moved out of position upon contact with the catcher mechanism, so that the cloth spreading edge of the trailing cloth spreader bar can move beneath the catcher bar which falls thereupon to engage the cloth,

and permit the trailing catcher bar to be withdrawn leaving the now formed fold beneath the catcher bar. The previously leading spreader bar then pivots back to active position, and becomes the trailing catcher bar as the carriage reverses its direction of movement, and moves leftwardly as seen in FIG. 1 until the spreading edge 17 again engage the web 11 to now spread an additional layer of cloth upon the layers previously deposited upon the cloth laying table. The distance between the plane of the cloth web and the spreading edge 17 is indicated by reference character 19, and this distance must be traversed by the carriage before the spreading edge on bar 14 again reengages the web of cloth. If the movement involved also causes rotation of the feed roller, as in prior art devices, an additional length of cloth web equivalent to the distance 19 will accumulate causing an out-of-phase condition.

Referring now to FIG. 2 in the drawing, there is illustrated a generally conventional cloth laying carriage 22 comprising a pair of side frames, one of which is indicated by reference character 23, supported upon wheeled means 24 on an upper surface 25 of a cloth laying table. A cloth roll constituting a cloth web supply dispenses a web 26 over idler rollers 27 and a positively driven roller 29, so that a vertically disposed tensionless segment 30 drops between first and second fold-forming bars 31 and 32, respectively. A sprocket chain 33 driven by lost motion means described hereinbelow engages a sprocket 34 on a shaft 35 which supports the driven roller 29 in well known manner.

Referring to FIG. 3, motion transmission means 38 serves to convert motion from a prime mover (not shown) in either direction into transverse motion of the carriage across the cloth laying table, and provides means for powering the positively driven roller 29 in a single direction only. It includes first and second mounting plates 39 and 40, the position of the latter also being illustrated in FIG. 2, the plates mounting therebetween first, second and third shafts, 41, 42 and 43, respectively.

The first shaft 41 is mounted between first and second bearings 44 and 45, respectively, and mounts a driven sprocket 46 which receives power from a chain (not shown) which also supplies motive power to the wheeled means 24 through interconnecting means not shown and well known in the art. At a free end 47, a sprocket 50 is keyed which is interconnected by a pair of sprocket chains and a pair of idlers (not shown) to result in transmitting motion in the same direction to a sprocket 50a on a short shaft 51 extending co-axially with respect to the second shaft 42. Turning with the sprocket 50a is a first member 52 forming part of lost motion means 53, the member 52 supporting first and second studs 54 and 55. An arcuate member 56 is mounted on the second shaft 42, and is provided with a radially extending stud 57 selectively engaging either one stud or the other as motion is imparted to the sprocket 50a. Thus, each time the first shaft 41 reverses direction, motion will be lost before this motion is transmitted to shaft 42.

The shaft 42 is also supported between first and second sets of bearings 59 and 60, and mounts a gear 61 and a sprocket 62, the latter member incorporating a unidirectional clutch 63 which transmits motion only in a counterclockwise direction imparted to the shaft 42.

The third shaft 43 is supported between first and second sets of bearings 66 and 67, respectively, and mounts a gear 68 incorporating a unidirectional clutch 67 operative only in a clockwise direction as seen in FIG. 2 of the shaft 43. The gear 61 is in constant mesh with the gear 68. The sprocket 70 interconnects the sprocket chains and a pair of idlers (not shown) to the sprocket 62 to turn in the same direction therewith. An output sprocket 71 drives the sprocket chain 33, as seen in FIG. 2.

At this point in the disclosure, a brief discussion of the operation of the above described structure is apposite. Depending upon the direction of movement of carriage, either leftwardly or rightwardly as seen in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first shaft 41 will rotate in either a counterclockwise or a clockwise direction. Thus, motion transmitted from the sprocket 48 to the sprocket 50 will be of an identical rotational direction, with lost motion occurring each time the direction of the carriage is reversed, as at the end of a cloth laying cycle at either end of the cloth laying table (compare FIG. 4 with FIG. The second shaft 42 will also rotate in either direction,

the first shaft. However, the motion transmitted to the third shaft 43 will depend upon the direction of rotation of the second shaft 42.

Assume the second shaft to be rotating in a counterclockwise direction. The unidirectional clutch 63 will free wheel, and motion will be transmitted from the gear 61 to the gear 68 to result in clockwise motion of the latter. The unidirectional clutch 69 becomes operative, resulting in clockwise motion of the third shaft 43.

Assume an opposite, i.e. clockwise direction of rotation of the shaft 42. After the required lost motion provided by the means 53, the unidirectional clutch 63 becomes operative and transmits rotation in the same direction to the sprocket 70. The clutch 69 becomes inoperative to result, again, in clockwise rotation of the third shaft 43. The output sprocket 71 thus rotates in the same clockwise direction, irrespective of the direction of movement of the carriage.

I wish it to be understood that I do not consider the invention limited to the precise details of structure shown and set forth in this specification, for obvious modifications will occur to those skilled in the art to which the invention pertains.

I claim:

1. In a cloth laying machine carriage of a type including a positively driven feed roller having an outer sur face, which roller rotates in a single direction and is driven by means responsive to movement over a cloth laying table in either of two opposite directions, said carriage having a pair of movably mounted foldforming bars having spaced guiding edges which selectively guide a web of cloth from said driven roller beneath a catcher bar positioned to fall thereupon, improved means for preventing the accumulation of cloth caused by continued rotation of said feed roller during movement of said carriage caused by the reversal of direction of movement of said carriage at the completion of a cloth laying cycle and the commencement of another cloth laying cycle in which a previously inactive fold-forming bar of said pair of bars moves into active position and subsequently moves against a surface of said web, said means comprising lost motion means interconnecting said feed roller and said means responsive to movement operative upon reversal of the direction of said movement, said lost motion means interrupting the continuous rotation of said feed roller for a predetermined length of the path of travel of said carriage at either end of said cloth laying table corresponding to the distance between the cloth guiding edge of an inactive fold-forming bar and the point at which said bar contacts said web following the commencement of movement of said carriage at the beginning of a cloth laying cycle.

2. Structure in accordance with claim 1, in which said lost motion means includes a coupling having first and second members, said first member having an opening, said second member being of generally arcuate cross section and having a projection extending radially therefrom, and selectively contacting one of two points on said first member for the transmission of motion 

1. In a cloth laying machine carriage of a type including a positively driven feed roller having an outer surface, which roller rotates in a single direction and is driven by means responsive to movement over a cloth laying table in either of two opposite directions, said carriage having a pair of movably mounted fold-forming bars having spaced guiding edges which selectively guide a web of cloth from said driven roller beneath a catcher bar positioned to fall thereupon, improved means for preventing the accumulation of cloth caused by continued rotation of said feed roller during movement of said carriage caused by the reversal of direction of movement of said carriage at the completion of a cloth laying cycle and the commencement of another cloth laying cycle in which a previously inactive fold-forming bar of said pair of bars moves into active position and subsequently moves against a surface of said web, said means comprising lost motion means interconnecting said feed roller and said means responsive to movement operative upon reversal of the direction of said movement, said lost motion means interrupting the continuous rotation of said feed roller for a predetermined length of the path of travel of said carriage at either end of said cloth laying table corresponding to the distance between the cloth guiding edge of an inactive fold-forming bar and the point at which said bar contacts said web following the commencement of movement of said carriage at the beginning of a cloth laying cycle.
 1. In a cloth laying machine carriage of a type including a positively driven feed roller having an outer surface, which roller rotates in a single direction and is driven by means responsive to movement over a cloth laying table in either of two opposite directions, said carriage having a pair of movably mounted fold-forming bars having spaced guiding edges which selectively guide a web of cloth from said driven roller beneath a catcher bar positioned to fall thereupon, improved means for preventing the accumulation of cloth caused by continued rotation of said feed roller during movement of said carriage caused by the reversal of direction of movement of said carriage at the completion of a cloth laying cycle and the commencement of another cloth laying cycle in which a previously inactive foldforming bar of said pair of bars moves into active position and subsequently moves against a surface of said web, said means comprising lost motion means interconnecting said feed roller and said means responsive to movement operative upon reversal of the direction of said movement, said lost motion means interrupting the continuous rotation of said feed roller for a predetermined length of the path of travel of said carriage at either end of said cloth laying table corresponding to the distance between the cloth guiding edge of an inactive fold-forming bar and the point at which said bar contacts said web following the commencement of movement of said carriage at the beginning of a cloth laying cycle. 